-- THE ARCHIVE --

UNITED STATES
School CP - October 2005

Nevada County Picayune, Prescott, Arkansas, 5 October 2005

Odom recognized for service on Board

(extract)

Prescott's School Board kicked off its
September meeting by recognizing former member George Odom.

[...]

A discipline report was presented to the Board,
showing 66 infractions since school started on Aug. 19.

Of those, 34 were in school suspensions, three
were out of school suspensions, five students received corporal
punishment, four were punished for other reasons, one received a
bus suspension and one had a counselor conference. In addition,
there were seven sent to detention, four parent conferences held
and seven verbal warnings given.

The reasons for ISS included 10 classroom
disruptions, one bus conduct infraction, six tardies, five dress
code violations, four insubordinations, seven truancies and one
for profanity.

Itawamba County Times, Fulton, Mississippi, 5 October 2005

School board takes action

(extract)

Hundreds of parents in Itawamba County have in the past signed
forms stating their child would not receive corporal punishment,
or be paddled, by a member of the county school system. At
Monday's board meeting, school officials discussed changing
the board policy to revoke all forms of this type. All members
were in favor of leaving the decision of paddling a child up to
the principal and if a child refused a paddling to let the
principal take the appropriate action. The board will make its
policy change at the next regular meeting.

Jackson Sun, Tennessee, 7 October 2005

Paddling incident brings police investigation to Medina school

By Tonya Smith-King

Within the next 30 to 60 days, Medina police expect to release
findings of a probe into a complaint accusing a middle school
principal of "excessive force" in paddling a child, an
officer said Thursday.

The child's mother filed the complaint in late September
against Medina Middle School Principal Chad Jackson, Lt. David
Paschall said. No charges have been filed.

Jackson paddled the 10-year-old fifth-grade boy over a fight
he had with another student, Paschall said. The other student
also was paddled, he added, but did not file a complaint.

Excessive force involves "bruising or an actual
injury," Paschall said. He would not comment on the mother's
specific claims of the nature of the excessive force used because
the child is a minor.

As is protocol, Paschall notified the Department of Children's
Services, which sent a special investigator the next day,
Paschall said.

Corporal punishment at all Gibson County Special School
District schools has been suspended during the investigation,
said Superintendent Robert Galloway.

"We are obviously aware of the claims and take them very
seriously," Galloway said. "We have been and are
presently cooperating with agencies that are investigating these claims.

Neither Jackson nor the child's parents could be reached for comment.

Parents get an opportunity at the start of school to opt out
of corporal punishment by signing a form sent home with their
children, Paschall said.

"When they don't sign these forms, that lets the school
know they don't mind their child being paddled as a last
resort," Paschall said.

The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 7 October 2005

Board approves ban on spanking

By Jan MurphyOf The Patriot-News

Despite what Bart Simpson might say, repetitive writing of
sentences on the blackboard -- as seen at the beginning of every
episode of "The Simpsons" -- is not corporal
punishment. Neither is running an extra lap around the track or
standing in a corner.

But swatting a kid's bottom is, and that form of discipline is
on its way to being outlawed in Pennsylvania public schools.

The Independent Regulatory Review Commission yesterday voted
5-0 to add Pennsylvania to the list of 28 other states that ban
corporal punishment in public schools.

The regulations don't take effect until they are published in
the Pennsylvania Bulletin, which State Board of Education
executive director Jim Buckheit said could happen by the end of
next month.

The Bulletin is the state's official publication for
information and new regulations.

The Legislature still could block the ban from taking effect,
and Isacke said, "I won't breathe of [sic] sigh of relief until
they are published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin."

The commission-approved regulations bar educators from using
physical discipline that causes pain and fear, but would permit
school officials to defend themselves.

At present, only 18 districts -- none in the midstate -- in
Pennsylvania use corporal punishment, Isacke said.

The House Education Committee last week urged the regulatory
review commission to disapprove the regulations. Legislators
argued that removing this classroom-management option would tie
teachers' hands.

But Carol Karl of the Pennsylvania State Education Association
told the commission yesterday that teachers don't want that tool.

School psychologists warn against using corporal punishment,
and school nurses say it violates their responsibility to care
for children, she said. And the education association's lawyers
"believe that there's a legal vulnerability for both the
teacher ... and the school if they participate in striking the
student in school," Karl said.

Despite questions raised by the House Education Committee and
the Pennsylvania School Boards Association about whether the
State Board has the authority to impose such a ban, the
commission's counsel, Mary Wyatte, said she believed it did.

"The provision in the special-education regulations did
and will do more to reduce corporal punishment in the schools
than anything that IRRC does today," she said.

"As you know, some children in special education have
behavior problems that are very difficult to manage. However,
they can be managed and indeed thrive in school without corporal
punishment. So can students in regular education."

WRAL.com (WRAL-TV), Raleigh, North Carolina, 10 October 2005

Corporal Punishment In Public Schools

Paddled Student's Mother Wants Corporal Punishment In Schools Banned

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. -- A Robeson County teacher will
not face charges for paddling a seventh-grade student after
prosecutors concluded the instructor did nothing wrong. The
student's mother, as well as others, disagrees.

"When I got home, he was standing on the porch, he had
his pants down, and I was like, 'Oh, my God,'" the student's
mother, Tina Morgan, said.

Morgan's son, according to officials, was acting up in the
hallway at Rowland Middle School when the teacher paddled him.

Morgan has photos of the child's bruises that show his
backside purple, blue and black. She also has photos of the
paddles with phrases, such as "R U Next?" and "The
'Tude' Adjuster" written on them.

"When you walk [up] and you see a child that's bruised
like that, you don't know how to act," Morgan said.
"But that day, I was angry."

Robeson County's board of education defends the teacher.
School officials told WRAL that corporal punishment is allowed in
Robeson County as long as teachers follow certain guidelines.
Officials say the teacher in this case did follow them.
Prosecutors agreed and did not file charges.

Morgan, however, wants the rules changed. She is not alone.

Peggy Dean, a nurse near Charlotte, is leading the charge to
ban corporal punishment in North Carolina schools.

"It is absolutely inexcusable," said Dean, who works
with Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education. "If
an adult did this to another adult, then the adult would be in
jail. If I did this to my dog, then I could be in jail."

Dean said she sees Jones' case as a clear example.

She and Morgan planned to address the Robeson County school
board to ask that the school system's corporal punishment policy
be changed.

Currently, corporal punishment of any type is banned in 27
states across the nation and legislation banning it is proposed
in several others.

In North Carolina, more than half of the state's students are
in school districts where the practice is forbidden, including
Wake, Durham and Orange county school systems. Thirteen other
states, mostly in the South, have no restrictions on corporal
punishment.

This past spring, state lawmakers filed a bill to study
corporal punishment, but it never made it out of the House of
Representatives.

Reporter: Jason StoogenkePhotographer: Michael Joyner

Copyright 2005 by WRAL.com. All rights
reserved.

RELATED VIDEO CLIP from local TV news (WRAL, 10 October 2005), showing two different paddles from the school in question:

The Robesonian, Lumberton, North Carolina, 12 October 2005

Board scolded on spanking

By Mark LocklearStaff writer

LUMBERTON - Advocates for a national organization opposed to
corporal punishment told the school board Monday night that
spanking is ineffective and dangerous and should be banned from
the Public Schools of Robeson County.

Peggy Dean of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in
Education told the school board that the county ranks second in
the state for the number of "hits," according to a
civil rights study.

Dean said teachers lack training to administer paddling, which
she called outdated, ineffective and dangerous. She held up a
large photograph of the buttocks of Rowland Middle School student
who was paddled on Sept. 12. The boy's buttocks appeared bruised
and swollen.

"I have never seen such an atrocity," Dean said.
"I am not here to chastise you all as a county. I am here to
ask for you all to make this a learning experience. There are so
many alternatives than hitting a child."

Tina Morgan said her 12-year-old son was hit five times with a
wood paddle after he and another student were caught
"cutting up." School officials said the teacher,
Anthony Britt, followed protocol.

District Attorney Johnson Britt elected not to file criminal
charges. Corporal punishment is permitted by the school system,
but only with permission of parents or a guardian who sign a
consent form before the school year.

School board member Severeo Kerns said Dean was exploiting the
incident.

"It makes it sound like we are the only county in North
Carolina doing this ... and this is happening in every one of our
schools," Kerns said. "I don't think it is."

Dean, who is from Charlotte, said the school system is in
violation of a state law that requires systems to list violations
that would warrant corporal punishment. She said Robeson County's
policy is arbitrary and said there were other punishment options
to use on Morgan's child.

Kerns said behavior problems have grown inside the schools
because of a lack of discipline.

"I don't believe in excessive corporal punishment, but I
experienced corporal punishment growing up and I think I turned
out pretty good," Kerns said. "When I was in school 30
years ago, they used a leather strap."

Board member Terry Smith said corporal punishment isn't used
as often as when he was in school.

"The only difference is when I got it at school, I got it
at home, too," Smith said. "In today's times, that
doesn't happen."

Board member Stephen Stone said he used corporal punishment
during the 12 years he was a principal, but that he had never
seen bruising like was depicted in the photograph.

"Regardless of how offensive this is, it's still not
right for any child to have these kinds of marks on them,"
said board member John Campbell. "We cannot ignore this."

Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education has asked
state Rep. Doug Yongue to introduce a bill that would ban
corporal punishment in North Carolina. Twenty-seven states have
already done so.

Morgan was upset after the meeting, saying she didn't care for
the response she got from the board.

"If that was their child, would they still try to say
that it is OK to bruise a child?" Morgan said in tears.
"They are blowing it off as if nothing happened."

Morgan has hired a lawyer.

Tom Johnson, a member of organization's board of directors,
drove from Nashville, Tenn., to tell the board about social
problems that he says come with spanking.

"What's hard to understand is why teachers are getting
away with doing this to kids while a parent, who did the same,
would have the cops and Social Services all over them," he said.

Some board members expressed concerns that details of the
presentation weren't disclosed beforehand, including the
photograph that was distributed.

"I am not sure if the pictures were appropriate,"
said Chairman Mike Smith. "She could have spoke [sic] in two weeks
during the public comment but we shouldn't be ashamed of
information. If we can all learn from the experience, that's what
it's all about."

Baker County Standard, Macclenny, Florida, 13 October 2005

School system studies discipline

(extracts)

The Baker County school system periodically reviews all of
its policies and recently commissioned an evaluation of the
districts discipline policies and practices. Independent
educational consultant Jonathan C. McIntire has submitted his
study and recommendations to the school board. He has previously
done similar evaluations for other districts.

"It was time for us to take a look at it. He made some
suggestions that we will be looking into. A few have already been
implemented at the high school and the middle school," said
School Superintendent Paula Barton.

[...]

McIntire also recommended in his report that Baker County
cease using corporal punishment as an alternative, "though
clearly accepted by a majority of the community, educators and students."

Barton responded to the recommendations, "We expect a
high level of proper behavior from our students. Misbehavior
takes away the opportunity for other students to learn,"she said.

How to provide a positive learning environment while
maintaining discipline is always a dilemma and teachers can not
effectively teach in a class that is distracted by a misbehaving
student, according to Barton. She added that the expulsion rate
for the county schools had actually decreased last year, when
compared to previous years. One of the root causes of the
inflated suspension rate is that while students are awaiting
expulsion, they are placed on school suspension. The process time
for expulsions can often take up to twenty days.

[...]

The superintendent concluded her remarks by saying, "I
will tell you that as long as I sit in this chair, corporal
punishment will be part of the discipline program in Baker
County. Parents of this county have consistently supported us and
this school board has always supported zero tolerance when it
comes to discipline."

Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina, 14 October 2005

Robeson schools punishment policy put on hold

By Venita JenkinsStaff writer

LUMBERTON - Robeson County school officials Thursday issued a
moratorium on the use of corporal punishment.

School officials plan to review the system's policy and
determine whether they want to continue with corporal punishment,
school board Chairman Mike Smith said. No date has been set to
lift the moratorium.

Robeson is one of four systems in the Cape Fear region that
allow corporal punishment under strict guidelines at elementary
and middle schools. The others are in Bladen, Hoke and Harnett
counties.

Six schools systems in the region prohibit it.

The issue has received attention in recent weeks after a paddling incident in Robeson County. A seventh-grader had bruises
on his buttocks after being paddled. The boy's mother questioned
whether the teacher used excessive force to discipline her son Sept. 12.

The Sheriff's Office Juvenile Division investigated. District
Attorney Johnson Britt decided not to pursue charges against the
teacher because corporal punishment was not used to intentionally hurt.

A national organization against corporal punishment in public
schools on Monday asked the Robeson County school board to
consider alternatives to discipline students. Members of the
organization, Parents and Teachers Against Violence In Education,
said the method is dangerous.

Smith said the board policy is clear on how corporal
punishment should be administered.

"The problem is when the policy is not being followed," he said.

Superintendent Colin Armstrong, who issued the moratorium,
said he is divided on the issue. He is against corporal punishment.

"My position is an awkward position," Armstrong said.
"As a superintendent, my job is to implement board policy.
And this board has corporal punishment as part of its policy. I
do think there is significant risk when you use corporal
punishment. I pointed that out to the staff and first-year
teachers. I tell them: 'Number one, you might get charged. Number
two, you might get sued. Do you want to run that risk?"'

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT Several school systems in the Cape Fear region allow
corporal punishment as a form of discipline. However,
many systems have prohibited corporal punishment and have
sought alternative methods of disciplining students.

Allowed
Bladen
Harnett
Hoke
Robeson*

Prohibited
Cumberland
Lee
Moore
Sampson
Clinton City
Whiteville City

Robeson County officials issued a
moratorium on corporal punishment on Thursday.

Risk of lawsuits

More schools systems in the region are putting away the paddle
because of the potential for lawsuits.

Cumberland County schools revised its policy in 1997 because
there was a general feeling that corporal punishment was no
longer an acceptable form of discipline, school leaders say.

"I think we, those of us who were on the board at the
time, felt like it was an out-of-date form of dealing with
children in schools," board member Larry Lancaster said.
"Although the state gave us that authority, we felt that we
could find other means to discipline children. We found other
ways that were more meaningful and effective than having someone
bend over a chair."

Harnett school officials are debating whether they should
change to alternative methods. Harnett Superintendent Dan
Honeycutt said he wants his board to reconsider its policy.

"The board has chosen to leave it in there to give the
teachers and principals the option," Honeycutt said. "Very
few, if any, use it. I will ask the board to look at whether we
should continue to have it. Because of the attention that it
tends to get locally and nationally, our principals are very
reluctant to use it. It would be my preference that we do not
have it because of the potential problems that it may cause."

Some school leaders say there are parents who support corporal
punishment and see it as a way to deter bad behavior. The mother
of the Robeson County student had given school officials
permission to use it.

"I have had parents tell me that if the child knows that
he could be spanked in school it keeps them from misbehaving,"
said Bruce Dickerson, a Bladen County school board member.
"I know some people feel that children should not be
physically disciplined. If the parent feels that the child may
need corporal punishment and they submit to the school that it
may be an option, I am fine with it as long as it is handled
correctly. If it ever becomes a problem, we would have to look at
it different."

Resurfacing issue

Corporal punishment is an issue that tends to surface among
educators, said Eddie Davis, president of the North Carolina
Association of Educators. The association grappled with the issue
10 years ago, he said.

"Corporal punishment may not be outdated, but it is
certainly out of style," Davis said. "I think, personally,
school systems would be on safer ground not to administer
corporal punishment. There are too many variables that could come
into play."

Zoe Locklear has advised her students not to use corporal
punishment to discipline children. Locklear is the dean of the
School of Education at the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke and a former associate superintendent for leadership
development and special services for the state Department of
Public Instruction.

"In the era that we live in now, it is not acceptable to
strike another person's child," she said. "Even if parents
come in and sign the form or give teachers permission during a
teacher conference, I would not advise it. If they do it, they
need to make sure they are within the guidelines or they run the
risk of getting into trouble with the parent, an advocate or an
attorney."

Future teachers are being taught acceptable methods to handle
discipline in the classroom, Locklear said.

"I don't think there are too many schools of education
teaching how to properly paddle," she said. "… You can
maintain discipline without hitting kids."

Parents and Teachers Against Violence In Education has
approached state Rep. Doug Yongue about submitting a bill in the
next legislative session to ban corporal punishment in all
schools.

Yongue, who represents Robeson, Hoke and Scotland counties,
said he is willing to meet with the group and representatives
from the state Department of Public Instruction to discuss
whether the law needs to be changed.

"I am concerned about the issue and together we can
possibly come up with a solution," Yongue said. "I haven't
seen all the data or know all their concerns. If there is a
problem, we will certainly work on it."

Tyler Morning Telegraph, Texas, 20 October 2005

Simmons advises on punishment revisions

(extract)

The controversial issue of paddling or spanking students got
another airing Thursday when Tyler Independent School District's
superintendent made recommendations and school board members
again voiced conflicting opinions.

It is headed toward a board vote in November after
Superintendent Dr. David Simmons' presentation Thursday of
proposed revisions in the corporal punishment section of board
policy on discipline.

Board members complimented Simmons' attempt to tighten up the
policy, saying he is headed in the right direction, but they
remained divided on whether corporal punishment should be stopped
or kept as a disciplinary option.

Vice President Kristen Baldwin said the proposed policy
revision does not go far enough. She questioned whether benefits
of swatting a child for discipline are worth keeping the option
for corporal punishment and opposed allowing it.

Revisions in the policy proposed by Simmons would continue to
allow corporal punishment, but reduce the number of people
authorized to administer it.

Simmons also recommended the policy require parents to
"opt in" to allow their child to be considered for
corporal punishment; the existing policy requires parents to
"opt out" if they do not want such punishment used.

Trustees suggested changes in the wording of the
superintendent's proposed revisions to the corporal punishment
policy. Simmons said the suggestions show the value of the
board's practice of reading and discussing proposed policy at one
meeting and voting at the next month's meeting.

The superintendent recommended that principals and directors
still have the discretion to determine whether corporal
punishment will be used on their campuses. That means the
decision would be made on a campus-by-campus basis, as it is now,
although it is allowed at the district level.

For campuses that use paddling, students' parents or legal
guardians would be required to return a student enrollment and
contact information form each year stating whether they want
their child to be subject to corporal punishment.

That proposal, Simmons said, "would actually make parents
opt in as opposed to opting out on whether they want their child
to be considered for corporal punishment."

If principals decide to have corporal punishment at their
school, the superintendent proposed reducing the number of
individuals who have authority to administer it.

Simmons proposed the policy only authorize these personnel to
give corporal punishment: a principal, assistant principal or
instructional consultant at schools and the director or assistant
director of the Plyler and PACE programs. Current policy also
allows teachers to administer corporal punishment.

The superintendent's proposal would formally require the
parent or legal guardian of a student to be contacted and approve
the use of corporal punishment prior to each paddling. That has
been a practice by most schools, but is not a requirement of the
current policy, Simmons said.

Even though a parent or guardian may have "opted in"
on forms at the beginning of the school year for corporal
punishment for their child, family situations could have changed
between the original opt-in period and the time an incident
arises in which a school might consider paddling a child, Simmons
said.

Trustee Orenthia Mason, a former principal, questioned the
proposed policy that empowers the principal to approve the
"instrument" used in administering corporal punishment.
That should not be in the hands of the principal, but should be a
district decision, she said. She recalled that the district used
to specify the paddle used before Simmons became superintendent,
and said there should be no variation in the paddle.

Trustee Therelee Washington, another former principal, said
the district used to have guidelines for the thickness, width and
length of the paddle, which was available from administrative
offices. The paddle should be consistent all over the district,
Washington said.

Simmons said he had heard there used to be paddle
specifications at one time, but had been unable to locate them.
However, he agreed to conduct further research and return to the
board with changes in the wording of the proposed policy to
incorporate the paddle specifications.

In the past, paddling was only allowed in the principal's
office or assistant principal's office, Ms. Mason also
remembered. She said the principal or assistant principal's
office is the most appropriate place for such punishments to be
administered.

Simmons' policy revision would stipulate that corporal
punishment be administered out of view other students. Ms. Mason
told the superintendent she would much rather have it require the
punishment to take place in the principal's office and nowhere
else. Ms. Baldwin noted that even if it were administered in
private in a gymnasium, other students might hear. Simmons said
he would change the wording of the policy.

Trustee Brad Spradlin said he felt district officials were
headed in the right direction with the corporal punishment
policy. Several principals he contacted reported that it is
effective with the majority of students, and one principal said
she uses it as a fear factor, Spradlin said.

Spradlin said he wants to give principals and campuses the
flexibility and option to use corporal punishment, whether they
actually use it or not. But Spradlin wanted the board to monitor
its use on a semesterly or yearly basis to see how it is used,
which campuses use it and whether it is effective, and to revisit
the issue if it is proven not to be effective.

Washington said paddling does work with certain students. He
described it as an alternative, and said that principals don't
have to do it, but should have the option if they choose. "I
support it," he added.

Trustee Ron Vickery said he was uncomfortable with the old
policy's wording of the, [sic] particularly the "opt-out"
section, but noted the revision would take care of his concerns
by requiring parents to "opt in". He also favored
district specifications on the type of paddle.

President Andy Bergfeld questioned whether children are better
off with society "toning down" discipline and
"counseling people to death." He expressed concern that
parents may end up opting out of corporal punishment due to lack
of response on returning the form and failure to read the
paperwork.

Consequences of the proposed policy changes and continuing to
allow corporal punishment, Ms. Baldwin said, would require
paperwork, monitoring to make sure it is not done too forcefully,
contacting parents and put the district and child in a libelous
situation.

She asked fellow board members before voting on the policy
revisions to remember that their responsibility is to every child and taxpayer.

The Robesonian, Lumberton, North Carolina, 24 October 2005

Sparing the rod

(extracts)

LUMBERTON - There are those who can still remember when a
teacher thought nothing of taking a leather strap to the behind
of an incorrigible student.

But with the threat of jail time or a lawsuit, educators
aren't as quick to raise the paddle today.

School board member Severeo Kerns says the hesitancy to paddle
students makes it difficult to maintain discipline in schools
today. But Kerns is in a dwindling minority.

Polls show most people are opposed to corporal punishment.
Parents aren't keen on the idea of a stranger striking their
child.

Some educators say the practice may even be ineffective.
Associations that represent doctors and psychologists warn
against it.

The Robeson County school system has issued a moratorium on
corporal punishment until administrators meet with principals on
Tuesday to clarify the policy. Paddling may also be part of the
discussion at the board's meeting on Monday.

The issue was pushed to the forefront after a Rowland Middle
School parent said a paddling last month left bruises on her son.
She plans to sue. A similar claim was made at Southside-Ashpole
Elementary School in September 2004.

Board member John Campbell said the Rowland Middle School
incident should be the "wake-up call" that sparks a
review of the board's policy on corporal punishment.

"Robeson County has dodged the bullet over the years
...," Campbell said. "It has been acceptable. Folks
have used it to some degree of success. But on the flip side, we
say we believe in non-violence and resolving conflict with an
emphasis on mediation. There is just less tolerance now from
parents, community and culture."

[...]

Survey says

Seventy-five percent of the 600 adults surveyed in North
Carolina said it was OK to spank a child, but 63 percent said a
teacher shouldn't do the swatting, according to a survey
sponsored by WBTV-TV Charlotte and WTVD-TV Raleigh. But a highly
unscientific poll that is conducted on The Robeson's Web site,
robesonian.com, suggested more tolerance locally. About 69
percent of 156 votes by Saturday morning had been cast by people
were in favor of corporal punishment as an option in the schools.

More than half of the state's students are in school districts
where the practice is forbidden, including the Wake, Durham and
Orange county school systems.

Penny Arokiasamy, PTA president at Carroll Middle School, said
if her child needs a spanking, she should be the one to do it.

"You never know how rough a teacher or a principal is
going to be with a child or how a child is going to react,"
Arokiasamy said. "In this day and age a child, and as angry
as some children are, could react violently if they are touched
by another adult."

The loss of privileges, like field trips and snack time, and
time-out can be used at the elementary level and suspensions can
be used with older students, according to Arokiasamy.

"When I came here I was surprised that it still happened,
but I've seen it happen less and less," said Rauch, a Ohio native.

Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education said that
Robeson schools ranked second in the state in the instances of
corporal punishment for the 1999-2000 school year, when it was
used 555 times. School officials say that the number of instances
was down to 146 for the last school year. There was no
information on where that would rank the county in the state.

Liability issues

Glenna Hicks, UniServe director, said the number of paddlings
has dropped because educators are afraid of the consequences.

"I was brought up with people using corporal punishment
and I used it myself," she said, "but now it's too
dangerous for teachers or administrators to use it, because of
things that are happening to teachers who do."

The district attorney reviewed the Rowland Middle School case
and decided no laws were broken, but that case is headed for
civil court.

Corporal punishment has become such a hot-button issue that
many principals are reluctant to talk about it. Several who were
contacted for this story refused to be interviewed.

The few who did comment said corporal punishment should only
be used if other methods of discipline have failed.

"I haven't done it very often," Principal Walter
Jackson of Townsend Middle said. "We use it as a last
resort."

David Evans, principal of Littlefield Middle School in
Lumberton, said he didn't use corporal punishment at home.
"I have a 3-year-old at home, and I wouldn't want it done to
him," he said.

Evans said he has told his teachers not to administer it.

"I tell them, if there is to be corporal punishment, let
an administrator do it," he said. "I've told the
teachers not to do it; there is an unacceptable liability."

Evans also questioned the punishment's effectiveness.

"Why spank a child when that's all they get at
home?" he said. "The threat of a spanking may be enough
for some. Others may be jaded to it."

Other principals say they do not have a problem with corporal
punishment if administered within the board's guidelines.

"Before the punishment, there must be conferences with
the parent and student making sure they are aware of all
disciplinary actions taken to that point," said Joyce
Canady, principal at Fairmont Middle.

Canady said in her five years as principal, she has paddled
about 20 children.

An appropriate paddling, she said, should only sting the buttocks.

"Unless the child has a medical problem, a paddling
should not leave any type of bruising," she said.

The state keeps no record of how many students receive swats
each year or how many districts still use corporal punishment.
But at least seven school districts in Tulsa County and a charter
school sponsored by Tulsa Public Schools do.

The Lonoke Democrat, Arkansas, 26 October 2005

First school in Lonoke has 197 students in 1868

By Ed GaluckiStaff writer

(extracts)

Fires have taken a toll on Lonoke schools, Sharron Havens,
Lonoke School District superintendent, on Sunday told a meeting
of the Lonoke Historical Society. There were three schools built
before the current high school building, and each burned, she said.

[...]

Havens compared the 1903 annual school report, by A.J.
Meadors, with that she is prepared to make in November to the
school board. "There are several things that are very
similar," she remarked.

The total number of days for school in 1903 was 178, the same
attended now, Havens said. Enrollment was 416 with an average
attendance of 321, she read.

"He really gets on to people about attendance," Havens
said of Meadors" report. "We have to do the same
thing," she remarked.

Meadors mentioned discipline, that the rod should rarely be
used, Havens said. But also that experience had taught that there
are some who cannot be controlled by "milder means."

"We still use corporal punishment," Havens said. It is
not considered as the first choice, but sometimes it is all that
some understand, she said.

Meadors also wrote about relations with teachers, and that there
were often points that had to be resolved. That still goes on
today, she said.

Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio, 27 October 2005

New Orleans players receive warm welcome

CCC, Alliance among OHSAA schools to the rescue

(extracts)

Ken Love/Akron Beacon JournalDue to Hurricane Katrina, Samuel Duncan, 17, of New Orleans has relocated to the area and is a football player for Canton Central Catholic.

CANTON - Theron Andrews balls up his fists, then flexes
his exposed forearms as if he's ready to throw a punch. He tries
to ignore the cold rain and wind that have penetrated his
shoulder pads and reached his T-shirt.

He shivers.

Andrews runs in place, pretending he's Canton Central
Catholic's starting fullback, and he's blocking defenders. He
moves closer to teammate Samuel Duncan, trying to absorb body
heat as he waits for his chance to participate in football drills.

Nothing seems to work. He shivers.

Tricky winter weather is Lesson No. 1 that Andrews has learned
since relocating last month from the New Orleans area.

"It wasn't that cold this morning," Andrews said as his
teeth rattled.

He is one of 34 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina now
playing sports in Ohio, according to the Ohio High School
Athletic Association.

Andrews and Duncan are playing junior varsity football at
Central Catholic.

Ian Peters, who attended Shaw High School in New Orleans,
plays junior varsity football at Alliance.

They've all discovered that life is much different here.
Peters lives with his family, which is from Alliance, but in
Canton, Andrews' mother is the lone chaperone for five students
from St. Augustine High School.

[...]

Central Catholic is a relaxed learning environment compared
with St. Augustine, an all-male Catholic school in a
predominantly African-American community. Until the school was
destroyed by flood waters in late August, paddling
was a familiar form of discipline.

[...]

Academics are different in Louisiana, so Duncan, a junior, is
enrolled in Spanish I and chemistry, both freshman classes in
Ohio. Andrews, a sophomore, is enrolled in two freshman-level
classes, biology and Spanish I.

Even though St. Augustine football was one of the elite
programs in New Orleans, just as many fans showed up on Friday
nights to watch the band perform; some prefer the halftime show
over the game. At Central Catholic, the school band plays second fiddle.

Shelbyville Times-Gazette, Tennessee, 28 October 2005

Child's paddling upsets family

By Clint Confehr

A school paddling of Community School eighth grader
Samuel Manus has his parents, Freddy and Tracy Manus,
complaining to the school superintendent and sheriff's
department.
(T-G Photo by Clint Confehr)

A Unionville mother and father are complaining about the
paddling of their 14-year-old son, allegedly by Community High
School's assistant principal, and they've taken their concerns to
the superintendent of schools, the sheriff's department and have
released their boy's medical records showing bruises and swelling
at his tailbone.

"Diagnosis: Child Abuse," is a notation in the
physician's notes.

Community High School Principal Robert Ralston declined
comment and deferred questions to Bedford County Schools' Central
Office where Superintendent Ed Gray said he's in the middle with
responsibilities to protect students' as well as employees'
rights. To avoid duplication of efforts, Gray said Bedford County
Sheriff Clay Parker and/or his detectives would be investigating
the allegations.

Samuel Manus suffered a "knot and bruise on [his] lower
spine," which showed "swelling due to excessive force
... punishment with a wooden paddle," according to Dr. Corbi
D. Milligan, a physician in Smyrna who examined the eighth grader
on Monday. The paddling on Wednesday last week, Oct. 19, was a
result of an incident on a school bus Oct. 18.

The boy didn't tell his parents, Freddy and Tracy Manus of
Virgil Crowell Road, until Sunday, Oct. 23, "because he had
a run-in with Mr. Williams last year," Freddy Manus said.
The father says he was escorted at that time from Community
School by a school resource officer and that on the way out,
Assistant Principal Keith Williams told him "'I call the
shots. You don't.'"

The distinction seems important because of an apparent
difference in paddling policies between Community High School and
Community Elementary School, as interpreted by Tracy Manus, who
points to Student Handbooks. Parents are asked if they'll give
permission to paddle elementary schoolers, but the high school
student handbook doesn't have such a reference.

Regardless, Freddy Manus says his son, Samuel, didn't deserve
a paddling that resulted in such injury. He took Samuel to Dr.
Milligan on Monday afternoon after he and Samuel visited the
superintendent that morning.

"After listening to their explanation of the incident, I
advised the parent that he could file a complaint with the school
system, file a complaint with the sheriff's office or make a
report to the Department of Children's Services. He took a copy
of the school system complaint form," Gray said in a
prepared statement. "The father returned to my office and
related that he had chosen to file with the sheriff's office. I
explained to him that the school system would cooperate with the
law enforcement investigation."

Ralston said: "Community High School has been made aware
of a complaint being issued regarding our staff. It is our policy
not to comment on student matters except with their parents or
appropriate authorities. Any further questions can to be directed
to our central office."

Samuel Manus said he was paddled by Williams who used a paddle
with a face approximately 4-inches wide and perhaps a foot long.
He had to bend over with his hands on a bench for the paddling
which was observed by Ralston, the student said.

His doctor said she'd not seen such injury from paddling before.

"It hit the lower part of the spine," Milligan said.

"Most times when kids are spanked, they're hit on the
buttock," she said. "He would not have had bruising had
he been hit on the buttock.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics' policy on corporal
punishment is ... it's not an appropriate form of punishment at
any age," the pediatrician said.

"I understand there are cultural differences, but there
have to be boundaries," she said. "If marks are left,
then the punishment is excessive."

What led to the paddling is described by the Manus family:
Samuel was seated on a county school bus with a friend. They were
going to his house after school on the other boy's normal bus
ride. Samuel had a foot in the aisle of the bus, an infraction of
rules on that bus.

Freddy Manus sees merit to the rule but only if a passenger is
trying to trip another.

Because of the infraction, the bus was stopped and Samuel
Manus was told to sit behind the driver.

The boy told the Times-Gazette that he told the driver,
"'If you don't leave me alone, I'll get my daddy on this.'

"He said, 'Shut up,'" Samuel Manus reported.

Freddy and Tracy Manus concede their son has been paddled
before. The three "licks" he got last week brought his
total to five, having had two administered during one previous
"butt whuppin'," the parents said.

Freddy Manus said Thursday he's taken medical records to the
Bedford County Sheriff's Department that afternoon, having left
them for Detective Chris Brown. The father and detective had
spoken earlier.

A call to the Sheriff's Department resulted in no contact with
Brown or Parker.

It was not totally clear whether the department would proceed
toward an arrest warrant or whether the information gathered
would be presented to the grand jury for the potential issuance
of an original indictment.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that a new state
law requires anyone who suspects a child has been abused to
report the case directly to the Department of Children's
Services, or face a $2,500 fine. The law is expected to have the
greatest impact on teachers, day care workers, nurses, and
institutions dealing with children.

Another state law says teachers and principals may use
corporal punishment in a reasonable manner against any pupil for
good cause to maintain discipline and order in the public schools.

Another section says teachers can hold students accountable
for disorderly conduct on campus and the school bus.

However, boards of education shall adopt rules as deemed
necessary to implement and control any form of corporal punishment.

Gray says there is no system-wide policy. Some schools follow
the state law. Others have their own policies. The discrepancy
has been approached, but not resolved by the school board.

The Robesonian, Lumberton, North Carolina, 28 October 2005

Spanking ban lifted

By Mark LocklearStaff writer

LUMBERTON - The Public Schools of Robeson County is no longer
sparing the rod after a two-week moratorium on corporal
punishment was lifted - but principals have been advised of legal
concerns and to paddle sparingly if at all.

That decision was made Tuesday when Superintendent Colin
Armstrong and other administrators met with principals to better
define when corporal punishment can be used. Principals were
given a list of seven behaviors that could result in corporal
punishment assuming consent of a parent or guardian had been
provided. The list will be posted at the schools.

Armstrong met with the principals to review the state and
local policies.

"I walked them through the policy and highlighted the
most critical parts," Armstrong said. "For instance,
who can use corporal punishment and when it can be imposed and
reconfirming the parents' option not to allow it."

If a parent or guardian who has given consent changes his
position and doesn't want his or her child paddled, educators
must abide by that decision, Armstrong said.

Armstrong said he asked principals to use caution when
administering corporal punishment, which is considered a last resort.

"I let them know that the legal option always
exists," he said. "Most people are aware that we live
in a society where legal options have been in place for years.
Most educators are aware that their behavior is subject to scrutiny."

Armstrong distributed a list of seven offenses that could
result in a paddling. They are: fighting; inappropriate or vulgar
language; disrespecting a teacher; skipping school; creating an
unsafe situation at school; creating an unsafe situation on a
bus; or endangering the safety of students or staff.

According to the board policy, "students must be warned
in advance of corporal punishment that certain types of
misbehavior could result in corporal punishment."

"We wanted to be reasonably consistent as a system,"
he said. "The principals are going to use the same list."

Armstrong said the principals will probably send a letter to
parents informing them of the types of misconduct that can result
in corporal punishment. He said all student handbooks will be
revised next school year to include the new list.

Armstrong told the principals to review the policy with their staff.

"The teachers and principals are fairly comfortable with
it," he said. "I just wanted to make sure we understood
every piece of the policy."

Daily Herald, Columbia, Tennessee, 30 October 2005

Sparing the rod

By Thomas MunroStaff Writer

(extract)

While paddles are gathering dust in most Maury County schools,
one school is still using its paddle more than once a week.

Hampshire Unit School, with 3 percent of the county's
students, accounted for 53 percent of the corporal punishments
doled out last year, according to data provided by the Central
Office at the request of The Daily Herald.

Hampshire Principal Stan Curtis said the 41 corporal
punishments at his school last year involved 25 students,
including 24 boys and one girl. Seven percent of the
school's 339 students received corporal punishment.

Though the number of students involved in the 77 total
corporal punishments in the county last year was not determined,
that number of students is at most 0.5 percent of last
year's total student population.

Curtis said he has been following the district policy, which
allows administrators to paddle students as a means of
discipline.

"We're not trying to win the battle of the most
corporal punishments," he said.

OTHER SCHOOLS, OTHER POLICIES

Curtis said Oct. 20 the discovery that his school is
responsible for a disproportionate number of corporal punishments
does not mean he will reconsider when such punishments may be
appropriate or rethink the school's policy or procedures.

Director of Schools Eddie Hickman said he saw the numbers for
the first time Wednesday. Mary Carter, supervisor of attendance
and discipline, said these tallies have been gathered routinely
in the past, but were not gathered in 2004-2005 because the
federal government did not ask for them.

Hickman said Wednesday paddling was a parent's choice.

"It doesn't alarm me, coming from a rural
school," Hickman said. "I think that if more schools
used paddling then the number (at Hampshire) wouldn't be
that alarming."

Hickman said he chose not to paddle students at Central High
School when he was principal there.

Principal Ken Wiles of Riverside Elementary, which reported
zero corporal punishments, said the district's 11 elementary
principals agreed informally four or five years ago not to paddle
elementary school students.

"The incidence was so slight anyway," Wiles explained.

Hampshire school includes all grade levels, kindergarten
through 12th grade, and Curtis said he does not have a policy
against using the paddle on elementary school students.

He said he had heard about the agreement among elementary
school principals but was not a party to it.

Hickman said he plans to discuss Hampshire's corporal
punishment procedures with Curtis.

The only other elementary school to report corporal punishment
was Mt. Pleasant. According to Principal Larry Brown, the four
incidents he reported included three in which the parent carried
out the punishment. In the fourth case, Brown said, the parent
had requested a paddling and was present for it.

"It's absolutely, positively the last resort,"
Brown said. "Normally, we don't do that."

Curtis said he usually deals out corporal punishment at a
parent's request, but sets certain limits on the frequency
of paddling.

"I'm not going to paddle a kid over three or four
times in a year," Curtis said.

Hickman said there is no training for administrators in the
use of corporal punishment, nor has there been any since he began
in the schools.

The 77 incidents last year is down from numbers reported to
the federal government for the 1999-2000 school year, when 160
students received corporal punishment. Sixty-five of the 160
attended Whitthorne Middle School, which this year reported 11
incidents of corporal punishment. The county reported no
incidents at Hampshire.

SCHOOL BOARD POLICY

School Board policy places a number of restrictions on the
character and procedure of corporal punishment in Maury County.
According to policy, "The process of administering a
paddling to a student on the buttocks with a school-approved
paddle witnessed by licensed personnel is called corporal punishment.

"A student shall be struck in a responsible manner no
more than three (3) times during corporal punishment," the
policy continues.

Elsewhere, the policy indicates that a student's own bad
behavior is not the only factor to be considered when deciding on
corporal punishment.

"The nature of the punishment will be such that it is in
proportion to the gravity of the offense, the apparent motive and
disposition of the offender, and the influence of the
offender's example and conduct on others," the policy states.

School Board policy further directs school officials to
consider the age, sex, size, physical condition and emotional
condition of the child when determining the use and degree of
corporal punishment.

If parents do not want school officials to be authorized to
paddle their children, they must fill out a form and meet with
school administrators to discuss alternative punishments. In the
past these forms were distributed to parents whenever their
children were new to a school. Carter said she did not know if
the forms were still handed out at elementary schools that have
unofficially banned the practice.

The policy does not require that parents be present or that
they be informed of the paddling. Curtis and Principal Jeff Quirk
of Culleoka Unit School, which reported 13 paddlings in a school
population of 966, said while they will tell parents at some
point, they do not necessarily tell them ahead of time.

Hickman and Carter said they did not receive any complaints
from parents about corporal punishments last year.

A NATIONAL DEBATE

School corporal punishment is currently banned in 28 U.S.
states. A 2002 ABCNEWS poll found that while two out of three Americans approve of spanking children, three in four do not
think it should be permitted in school.

In 1999-2000, 4.2 percent of Tennessee students received
corporal punishment, according to the U.S. Department of
Education. Since then, the Nashville, Memphis and Maryville
school systems have banned the practice, adding to a list that includes Knoxville and Murfreesboro.